Mark Tobey (1890-1976) - Self Portrait

Mark Tobey
Self Portrait (Autoritratto)
Anno 1967
Color lithograph on BFK Rives paper, signed and numbered
The paper has darkened with time, but the work remains highly enjoyable

Mark Tobey was a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, famous for fusing Western sensibility with Eastern spirituality. His most iconic innovation is the "white writing": a dense tangle of clear calligraphic marks on dark backgrounds that blurs the distinction between figure and space. Deeply influenced by the Bahá'í Faith and the study of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, Tobey conceived art as a means to represent universal interconnection and the invisible energy that unites all things.

Unlike his New York School contemporaries, such as Jackson Pollock, his works are often small in scale and invite intimate, meditative contemplation rather than immediate physical impact. His vibrant, multilayered style transforms the painting surface into a pulsating network of light and movement, making him one of the "mystics of the Pacific" and a fundamental bridge between East and West in 20th-century art.